The athlete's initiative and availability help for future construction of scientific information on the subject, which had been little explored until then. Since CBD (cannabidiol, non-psychoactive plant-derived substance) dropped off the doping list in 2018, competitors have gained yet another safe health treat. On the other hand, companies glimpsed a new business potential, still little explored: the use of their derivatives to improve the well-being and performance of athletes. This is precisely what researchers want to investigate.
"For a year, Paternostro will be accompanied by a team of nutritionists, doctors and physical trainers. The idea is to evaluate the impact of CBD in sport, mainly in terms of athlete's performance", says Jaime Ozi, one of Tegra Pharma's partners, the company that will sponsor the study. Depending on the results achieved, the study may be expanded. Regardless of the research, the triathlete uses CBD and THC (the psychoactive substance in Cannabis) to reduce training pain. "In these cases, the most common is the use of known anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce muscle pain, which causes the athlete to decrease in performance, as it is precisely the breakdown of muscle fibres (and inflammation), which increases physical strength. ", explains Ozi. Hence the well-known motto among sportsmen: "no pain, no game" (in English, no pain, no game). "Cannabis", according to Ozi, "would have a different dynamic; it would act on pain without compromising performance."
Even weekend athletes know that discomfort and injury are part of their training routine. Paternostro was one of the sportsmen who early on saw the possible benefits in sport and business. In addition to constantly publicizing the good results achieved, with other groups of athletes, through social networks, last year, he set up the content and services platform called Athlete Cannabis. The site is a partnership made with two friends - who share the same principles regarding CBD in sport: triathlete Peu Guimarães and trekking practitioner Albert Fabregat.
"I can't tell people what works for me. There aren't any studies yet. A year from now, we'll have scientific tools to say what Cannabis derivatives really helped in my training." It is worth remembering that the use of THC - which scientifically relieves chronic pain even in diseases such as cancer and has also been used by the athlete - was not approved by Wada.
